Computer and communication technologies continue to advance at a rapid pace. Indeed, computer and communication technologies are involved in many aspects of a person's day. For example, many devices being used today have a small computer inside of the device. These small computers come in varying sizes and degrees of sophistication. Computers commonly used include everything from hand-held computing devices to large multi-processor computer systems.
Computers are used in almost all aspects of business, industry and academic endeavors. More and more homes are using computers as well. The pervasiveness of computers has been accelerated by the increased use of computer networks, including the Internet. Most companies have one or more computer networks and also make extensive use of the Internet. The productivity of employees often requires human and computer interaction. Improvements in computers and software have been a force for bringing about great increases in business and industrial productivity.
Computers are frequently used to store sensitive information. Unfortunately, the sensitive information that is stored on computers is often targeted by unauthorized users, sometimes referred to as intruders. Intruders may act in two different ways. Passive intruders attempt to read files that they are not authorized to read. Active intruders attempt to make unauthorized changes to data. Some intruders may be highly skilled and willing to devote a substantial amount of time to breaking the security of a computer system.
The term “security” refers generally to the problems involved in making sure that files are not read or modified by unauthorized persons. From a security perspective, computer systems have at least two goals: data confidentiality and data integrity. Data confidentiality means that secret data should remain secret. Data integrity means that unauthorized users should not be able to modify any data without the owner's permission.
Computers are frequently connected to other computers and/or electronic devices, often via computer networks. This complicates the issue of providing adequate security. When a computer is connected to a network, users of other computing devices that are also connected to the network may have access to the sensitive files stored on the computer. If this is not desirable, then steps are generally taken to prevent access to the sensitive files.
Within a business context, as corporate performance and end-user productivity have become increasingly dependent on computers, computer support personnel are continuously under pressure to ensure computer security. The support personnel are also under pressure to perform tasks as efficiently as possible which may include minimizing effects to existing computer systems and networks or disturbance of computer users. Accordingly, benefits may be realized by improved systems and methods for protecting sensitive files on a computing device from unauthorized access.